The Opinions - The ‘Sad Missed Opportunity’ of the Democratic Convention

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

The Democratic Party’s recent position — or lack of position — on Gaza “feels like gaslighting to a lot of Democratic voters,” Farah Stockman of the editorial board argues in this audio essay. The party claims to value social justice and human rights, but when it comes to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, she says, Kamala Harris “needs to do more, and she can do more, to assure people she’s going to have a more evenhanded approach when she becomes president.”Thoughts? Email us at [e-mail]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is The Opinions, a show that brings you a mix of voices from New York Times opinion. You've heard the news. Here's what to make of it. My name is Ferris Stockman. I am an editorial board member with the New York Times, and I write a lot about foreign policy and also politics. So since Joe Biden stepped aside last month, it seems like the leaders of the Democratic Party have really been feeling that they could avoid Gaza, which is the, issue that had caused so much turmoil earlier this year. I think they just wanted to kind of sweep it under the rug. And there was this feeling that Kamala Harris stepping in meant there was this new fresh face at the top of the ticket. And I think there was a hope that that would just be enough. My argument is that she actually needs to do more and that she can do more to assure people

that she is going to have a more even-handed approach when she becomes president. So on Thursday night, Kamala Harris took the stage. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. And gave a major speech that was really her reintroduction to the American people. She didn't duck Gaza. She actually had a portion of her speech about Gaza. She threaded the needle between reiterating this mantra about Israel,

having the right to defend itself and how she will always make sure that Israel has the weapons it needs to avoid another October 7th. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure. The hostages are released. But she also talked about the Palestinian people.

And the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security. So I thought she did a pretty good job in a speech that was going to be aimed, not at the left, but aimed at the American Center, aimed at Republicans, aimed at independence. But at the end of the day, these are all words. They're just words that are happening thousands of miles away from people who are dying and still being bombed. So I don't think it's going to be enough to satisfy people who have relatives right now in Gaza that are dying. But I do think it's maybe a glimmer of hope.

that if she is elected, she's going to see the humanity of people that has been ignored for many years. And that if she does see their humanity, she'll make some different decisions. So to really understand how we got to this moment for Democrats, we need to go back to October 2023. You've always had a bit of tension on the left between those who felt that Palestinians needed to be treated more equally. And those who really were progressive on everything except Palestine. But I think after October 7th,

this tension sort of boiled over into like a full rupture on the left, where you had protesters that were angry about the devastation in Gaza. And then you have people who were shocked by the protests, who had never been forced to confront Israel's behavior before. elected officials haven't actually changed very much how they talk about this issue over the decades. They're still very much focused on talking about our ironclad commitment to Israel as an ally and much more shy about talking about Palestinian rights.

On the other hand, voters, Democratic voters, do seem to be shifting. You are seeing movement in that regard. I think especially young Democrats are looking at this issue very differently and elected officials have yet to catch up. You're seeing some signs of it. Chuck Schumer gave a speech. After five months of suffering

on both sides of this conflict, our thinking must turn urgently to how we can achieve lasting peace. That was to many people quite stunning earlier this year where he called for a change in the leadership of Israel. I believe that to a change, achieve that lasting peace, which we so long for, Israel must make some significant course

corrections. It was quite harsh against Vibi Netanyahu, but, you know, B.B. Netanyahu still got standing ovations. I want to thank you, Democrats and Republicans, for your common support for Israel, year after year, decade after decade. And was still given a speaking slot. In Washington, and a Palestinian elected official cannot get a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention. So last Monday was a very crazy day for me at the DNC because they started off at the press conference where the uncommitted delegates came and they talked to reporters about their demands.

They were all people who were going to the convention. They were active Democrats. And they are people who are very critical of Israel. but there's still people inside the Democratic Party who are working within the system. They basically said, we want to have a Palestinian voice speaking from the main stage at the convention. So they had this press conference and they said they read out a list of elected officials at the state level who could have been given a chance to speak. And they initially had asked for an American who's just returned to. from Gaza to be speaking from the main stage.

I think that the DNC kind of shut that down pretty quickly, but they gave them a compromise. They gave them a human rights panel. The uncommitted delegates said, okay, we want someone speaking about this from the main stage. As late as Wednesday, they were still hoping to be able to get that to happen. and that at the last minute, a call came in, the DNC, they just said, we're not going to do it. And the delegate said the family of hostages, of Israeli hostages, are going to be speaking from the main stage. Hirsch, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong.

Survive. Which is something we support. But we also think they should hear about the suffering of Palestinians, which has been huge. The more I talk to the delegates that were at the convention who were involved at the uncommitted movement, it just seems like the Democratic Party should figure out how to take yes for an answer. You know, there were Palestinian Americans that would have gone on that stage, elected officials, and endorsed Kamala Harris. And had they done so, it would have opened up more space for others who have been skeptical to jump on board. And a lot of these people, they wanted nothing more than to leave the convention, you know, cheering for Harris as loudly as everybody else.

So I think the fact that that didn't happen is kind of a sad, missed opportunity for everybody. I absolutely think there is a long-term moral imperative for Democrats to figure out how to talk about this stuff in a way that keeps their tent big and inclusive. When you say that you're the party of social justice, when you say that you're the party of black and brown people, when you say that you're the party of rule of law and international law and human rights, you can't be silent when you're, these things are happening because young people see it and we're seeing it on our phones every day. It feels like gaslighting to a lot of Democratic voters and not just Arab Americans. It's also about students and young people and whether this message about Democratic Party values is hollow and empty or a real thing that we can stand on and build a future on. This show is produced by Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Vashaka D. Zerba, Phoebe Lett, Christina Samuelski, and Jillian Weinberger.

It's edited by Kari Pitkin, Alison Bruzek, and Annie Rose Strasser. Engineering, mixing, and original music by Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carol Saburo, and Afim Shapiro. Additional music by Amin Sahota. The fact check team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker, and Michelle Harris. Audience Strategy by Shannon Busta and Christina Samuelski. The executive producer of Times Opinion Audio is a very much of Time's Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Dresser.